Mellusi rushes for 2 TDs and Wisconsin beats South Dakota 27-13

By TAMIRA MADSEN Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Chez Mellusi rushed for two touchdowns, Tyler Van Dyke threw for another and Wisconsin beat South Dakota 27-13 on Saturday.

Van Dyke completed 17 of 27 passes for 214 yards and a touchdown for the Badgers (2-0). Chez Mellusi had 16 carries for 60 yards and Cade Yacamelli rushed for a team-high 73 yards on eight attempts.

Wisconsin raced to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter on a Mellusi 9-yard touchdown and a 50-yard scoring strike from Van Dyke to CJ Williams. South Dakota (1-1) cut the lead to 17-13 in the third quarter but couldn't get any closer.

Nathanial Vakos' 50-yard field goal made it 20-13 late in the third period. Mellusi's 1-yard touchdown run with 7:35 remaining put the game out of reach at 27-13.

Vakos also had a 24-yard field goal in the second period.

South Dakota's Charles Pierre Jr. rushed for 83 yards on 12 carries and Aidan Bowman completed 12 of 23 passes for 114 yards. Keyondray James-Logan scored South Dakota's lone touchdown with a 35-yard run early in the third quarter.

South Dakota creeped in contention in the third after a muffed punt by Wisconsin's Vinny Anthony. But the Coyotes failed to get a touchdown and settled for a Leyland 32-yard field goal to cut Wisconsin's lead to 17-13.

THE TAKEAWAY

Wisconsin: The Badgers had four gains of at least 22 yards in the first half, an encouraging sign after they had no plays longer than 17 yards in their season-opening 28-14 victory over Western Michigan. The biggest plays were Williams' 50-yard touchdown and a 32-yard catch by Anthony.

South Dakota: The Coyotes lost the game but made some big plays on defense and special teams. Nyle Dickel recovered a Wisconsin muffed punt in the third quarter. Mi'Quise Grace and Mosai Newsom got one sack each against Van Dyke.

UP NEXT

South Dakota: At Portland State on Sept. 14.

Wisconsin: Hosts No. 4 Alabama on Sept. 14.

___

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football